Treatment of petroleum



April 22 1924.

L. CLARK TREATMENT OF PETROLEUM Filed June 26. 1918 Patent Apr. 22, 1924.

LINCOLN CLARK, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA.

TREATMENT OF PETROLEUM.

Application filed June 26, 1918. Serial No. 242,108.

To all whom it may canoe m:

Be it known that I, LINCOLN CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pasadena, county of Los Angeles, and State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in the Treatment of Petroleum, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of treating hydrocarbons for obtaining therefrom, by separation or conversion, any desired product contained therein or susceptible of being formedtherefrom, and it consists essentially of treating petroleum or its products by a simple method which will yield the products desired without a prolonged subjection to a dissociating agent.

My invention consists in subjecting the petroleum or its products to the action of moving gases in such manner that the petroleum and all its products acted on and formed during the action are carried forward with the gases, and the following treatise, in connection with the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one form of apparatus that may be used for carrying out the method, will explain this principle in its application to any of the products of petroleum or to the mother oil containing a variety of low boilting point products.

The drawing is a sectional view showing the essential requisites of an apparatus for practicing the invention, and may comprise a chamber 1, in which a combustion under pressure of a suitable fuel, maybe prouced.

Such fuel may be introduced through a nozzle 2, concurrently with a required volume of air conveyed through a conduit 3, provided with a controlling valve 4, and also with a sight door or gate 5, for viewing the combustion within the chamber.

The initiation of the combustion may be effected by opening a gate or other valve 6, in the stack, 7 in which the stream of air or steam may be upwardly introduced through a nozzle 8, to create a draft through the a paratus. After the ignition of the fuel, t e valve 6 is closed. v

The combustion gases are conducted from the combustion chamber under a predetermined velocity and heat for action on. a specific oil fora specific product, as hereafter pointed out, through a relatively small tube 9. The oil for treatment is introduced into the path of the gases flowing through said tube 9, throu h a pipe 10, having a valve 11, whereby t e oil is carried forward with the gases and simultaneously acted upon by them, a valve 12, on said tube serving to regulate the velocity of the flowing gases, the heat or characterof which may be modified by introducing through a valve controlled pipe 13, a material or substance that may or may not affect the oil under treatment.

In the practice of the invention, the gases are produced in the combustion chamber by perfect or imperfect combustion, under pressure of a suitable-fuel, which may be controlled varyingly as demanded by conditions for specific effects upon certain hydrocarbons and for sustaining a velocity of travel of the gases which are substantially devoid of oxygen.

The heat of the gases and their velocity governs the particular action upon the hydrocarbon treated and obviously such action may be that of distillation or conversion or cracking for each particular yield desired, necessarily different conditions of heat and velocity of travel of the gases are required and hence, to obviate a lengthy table according to which the method must be specifically practiced, it may be generally stated that the heat ranges from a distilling temperature under 700 F. to a cracking temperature above 700 F. and that the velocity of travel of the gases ranges from ft. per minute to 6000 ft. per min. it being understood that within or approximately within this compass of ranges all hydrocarbons are susceptible of transformation or conversions:

To illustrate a specific instance:

Treatment of say a 33 gr. distillate for a product havin a lower boiling point than the initial boiling point of the original oil, which in the case given, is 360 F., requires a temperature of approximately 1050 F. and a velocity of travel of the ases of about 5000 ft. per min. The yield 0 a product of a boiling point lower than the original oil under these conditions may be stated to be about 35%, or considerably higher. Conse- (f uently where the character of the oil difers from the example noted, different eonditions of heat and velocity come into play and fromeach hydrocarbon treated a large percentage of products of lower boiling points than the original oil is obtainable.

Obviously during the process of conversion of the oil, some carbon is formed,

via a.

but such carbon is carried forward with the gases and with the resultant products of the conversion, and is either allowed to precipitate with the condensates or is separated from the vapors prior to cooling by any well known means What I claim is:

1. The process of producing hydrocarbon materials having low boiling points from hydrocarbon materials having high boiling points which consists in vaporizing at least a part of the material to be treated, subjecting said material so treated to a temperature above 700 F. by contact with hot gases of combustion under conditions substantially devoid of oxygen, whereb said material is cracked and conversion e ected.

2. The process of producing hydrocarbon materials having low boiling points from hydrocarbon materials having high boiling points which consists in producing combustion in one chamber, passing the resultant hot ases of combustion thus substantially deprived of oxygen into a second chamber, passing hydrocarbon material to be cracked into said second chamber and into the presence of said gases of combustion and into a cracking temperature of at least 7 00 F., the heat of which is provided by the heat of said gases of combustion, whereby conversion is effected, withdrawing all material from said secorid chamber, and separating said materia 3. The process of producing hydrocarbon mantis materials having low boiling oints from hydrocarbon materials having igh boiling points which consists in vaporizing at least a part of the material to be treated, subjecting said material so treated to a temperature above 700 F. by contact with hot gases of combustion under conditions substantially devoid of oxygen and to a cracking pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, whereby said material is cracked and conversion eflected.

4. The rocess of producing hydrocarbon materials aving low boiling points from hydrocarbon materials having high boiling points which consists in producing combustion in one chamber, passing the resultant hot gases of combustion, thus substantially deprlved of oxygen, into a second chamber, passing hydrocarbon materials to be cracked into said second chamber into a cracking pressure greater than atmos heric pressure and into the presence of said gases of combustion and into a cracking temperature of atleast 700 F., the heat of which is provided b the heat of said gases of combustion, w ereby conversion is effected, with drawing all material from said second cham her, and separating said material. In testimony whereof I have set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

LINCOLN CLARK. Witnesses:

W. H. DUTTON, E. C. EMERY. 

